School shuts as pupils suffer nosebleeds in heat

2 hours ago

Stuart WoodwardEssex

Temperatures inside classrooms at Stanway Primary School were up to 30C on Tuesday

Stanway Primary School An aerial photograph of Stanway Primary School, a red brick building, and its playground. — Temperatures inside classrooms at Stanway Primary School were up to 30C on Tuesday

A primary head teacher says pupils have been falling sick due to poorly-ventilated classrooms during extreme temperatures.

Stanway Primary School near Colchester was one of about 11 schools in the Essex County Council area which closed or partially closed on Wednesday due to the heat.

Rebecca Loader called for more government funding to "future-proof" school buildings, after some pupils had been physically sick and others had nosebleeds.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it was investing more than £700m to make existing school buildings "more resilient to a changing climate".

Rebecca Loader said she recognised the decision to close the school was "very frustrating" for parents

Richard Daniel/BBC Rebecca Loader stands in front of a noticeboard with various pieces of paper on display, including a navy blue circle with yellow writing which says Stanway Primary, with a trio of leaves in the middle. Rebecca has blonde hair and is wearing a blue and white floral top with a necklace — Rebecca Loader said she recognised the decision to close the school was "very frustrating" for parents

Loader said her school would close at 13:00 BST, after the temperatures in classrooms on Tuesday had become "absolutely unbearable".

She said windows could only be partially opened, and despite the use of fans and opening doors, staff were hampered by the building being "of mixed ages".

Attempts to regulate the temperature in the classrooms were not effective, the school said

Richard Daniel/BBC A white electric fan in a school classroom, with pupils in the background sitting at desks — Attempts to regulate the temperature in the classrooms were not effective, the school said

Apologising to parents for the inconvenience, Loader said she would never "hesitate" to the shut the school if she felt it was "genuinely unsafe".

"We have no money available for normal school repairs, let alone [installing air conditioning]", she told BBC Essex presenter Ben Fryer.

"I feel the government have very much, as usual, left it to local authorities and schools… it is [their] responsibility to make sure schools budgets equip the schools to run safely."

She said the government's heatwave guidance was not "particularly robust", adding: "The government need to be thinking about the age of a lot of our schools and perhaps auditing them."

More than 1,000 schools shut or closing early as extreme heat warning extended in southern England

A rare red weather warning was issued for parts of Essex and other counties, from 09:00 BST on Wednesday until 21:00 on Thursday.

A DfE spokesperson said: "We provide a range of practical guidance to help schools keep classrooms cool, including through the use of air conditioning.

"We design new schools to stay cool through effective ventilation and shading, and we are investing to make schools more resilient to a changing climate — including a £710m Renewal and Retrofit Programme and almost £20bn to rebuild over 750 schools."